1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for monitoring the amount of water drawn from a source pipeline and for shutting off the flow of water when the amount of water drawn exceeds a predetermined limit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flow regulators and metering devices are commonly used to regulate the amount of water used in a sprinkling system, to shut off the flow of liquid after a predetermined amount of fluid has passed, and to shut off the flow as a safety device when the flow exceeds normal limits. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,135 discloses a metering device having vanes turned by the liquid which drive a gear so that once the vane has rotated a selected number of times, as a result of the fluid flow, the rotation of the gear will break a frangible line causing the flow to stop. U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,264 discloses a water driven impeller and speed reducer that determines the open time of a valve member.
The present invention meets the needs and solves the problems identified above by providing an apparatus for automatically closing a valve on a water line when water has been flowing through the line for longer than a preselected time period. The apparatus comprises two vanes connected to two flow meters, a timer, a main gear connected to the two vane shafts, a timer gear connected to the timer, a shut off mechanism, a manual reset and an automatic reset when the shut off has not been engaged. The flow of water through the vanes causes the main gear to turn which causes the timer gear to turn. When the timer gear has turned the number of revolutions corresponding to the pre-selected maximum flow time, the timer will shut off the flow of water. When the water flow is interrupted, as in normal use of the water supply, the time will be automatically reset by the reset mechanism.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers represent like parts of the invention.